TAKE STEPS NOT TO FORGET BABY

What every adult needs to know to minimize the risk of forgetting there is a child in a car seat, locked inside a vehicle:

  • Accept that it can happen to you and that you should take precautions.
  • While every child should be correctly restrained in the back seat, avoid putting the child behind the driver. Use the passenger side instead.
  • Keep something in the child's car seat when it's empty, like a stuffed animal. When you put the child in, move the object to where you will see it, like the front seat.
  • Put something in the back seat of your vehicle that requires you to open the backdoor every time you park — cellphone, employee badge, handbag, etc. Make it a routine to open the backdoor of your car every time you park to check that no one has been left behind.
  • Ask your baby sitter or child care provider to call you if your child hasn't arrived on time.
  • Avoid cellphone calls and texting while driving.

Sources: KidsAndCars.org; University of South Florida professor David Diamond